I've been looking at a couple of options. One would be to change from a one piece bracket to a two piece bracket (imagine just the two sides of the current bracket).

Do you really even need a 2 piece bracket? The metal seems pretty sturdy, and mounting the drives just on one side should be fine - still much better than the flimsy plastic sleds used in lots of computers nowadays. I'm thinking a little tab of metal with the appropriate holes should be fine.

Awesome! Just curious - did you check the voltage of the separate lines via mobo software or whatever while loading the system? I wasn't getting any crashes when using the quad core + 7750, but the 12 volt line was dropping as lower than 11 volts. Very bad for the voltage regulators on the mobo.

Don't think I'm having any issues if I am to believe the monitoring software (it shows the vcore moving around). I stay above 11.95v. As you mentioned earlier I think the main issue is that I only have 6 amps on the 12v line, since the crashing immediately goes away once I limit the TDP.

Impressively, my mushkin ram undervolts to 1.35v and counting. I will see how low they will go.

My i5 2400 sips power undervolted to 1.04v at stock settings (at most ~40W) so if Gigabyte ever adds vcore to the Z77N, I'll be in good shape with the i7 3770.

I've been looking at a couple of options. One would be to change from a one piece bracket to a two piece bracket (imagine just the two sides of the current bracket).

Do you really even need a 2 piece bracket? The metal seems pretty sturdy, and mounting the drives just on one side should be fine - still much better than the flimsy plastic sleds used in lots of computers nowadays. I'm thinking a little tab of metal with the appropriate holes should be fine.

No, but I don't think I could live with myself. Originally I wasn't going to have a bracket, and only support a single 2.5 inch drive. One of reasons why you can mount a single drive without the bracket, if you like.

Another question: I'm revisiting doing the finishing myself (powder coating most likely). Would anyone pay more for custom colours, or are people pretty content with black or white?!

sorry to hear your having coating issues. are the 2014 cases the same dimensions, -but with bigger bottom grill area? or were there other changes made?

im contemplating getting a second case to house an ATX PSU and maybe a 3.5 hdd.

did you ever consider a modular line? im thinking stack-able units with different back-plates... one for a PSU, one with a 5.25 drive bay where back-pane would be for opti or hot swap HDD (witch only would require a little bracket and trim to work with current back-pane cut out.), maybe a back-pane for cooling tubes, so it could house a radiator/pump assembly.

P.S. has anyone that you know of put a gtx 640 in one of these yet?

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Last edited by xan_user on Mon Jan 27, 2014 8:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

I haven't thought about a modular case in the past, but it's not something I'm considering doing. A NAS case... perhaps.

I'm not aware of anyone using a GTX 640, or of any GTX 640's that actually follow the low profile specification (in terms of cooler height). The Sapphire HD 7750 Low Profile seems to be the go to card for this case for those looking to do some gaming.

@porkchop, Thank you, luckily they stand behind their work, but still a challenge and time sink. I did try a new powder coater this time because I wasn't totally happy with the last one. They did an excellent job with the coating, but they failed to keep the parts properly protected from touching each other. Really sad, considering it was so close to being a success!

@thierry., Thank you, glad you like the bigger openings! I appreciate your suggestion. It's a good idea, and I'll try to implement it at some point. Just need to find/make the time to do it!

UPDATE MARCH 31, 2014: Planning to produce a batch of 20, and will be priced at $120 CAD. Taking pre-orders. Orders will be charged once the item is ready to ship, and will be processed in the order received.

Within about 1-2 weeks I'm planning to produce a slightly larger version of the L1, dubbed the L2. The main difference between the L1 is that the L2 will have two expansion slots. I've been getting a count of people seriously interested on another forum, but thought I'd post here also. I'm only producing enough for those who want one (and maybe a few extra). If you're interested, please let me know via PM or email:

Interest level:Serious (I'll pre-order if necessary), or Maybe?

Colour:Matte Black, Gloss Black, Gloss White, or Unfinished?

I'm still waiting on some pricing, but I expect price to be around $110-145 CAD.

thx. kinda bummed i drilled the holes in the bottom now.... oh well. Id like to come up with a cleaner e-sata port.

one thing im very happy about is i used hot glue to glued a red (hdd) and a green LED (power), right next to one another, just inside the back cutout for the wifi antenna. it makes a nice soft glow, instead of the usual disotek/rave light show.

Originally I made a shroud out of clear plastic, to channel fan 'exhaust' over the gpu heatsink, but it wasnt needed for my under-powered card. With a shroud or duct (-or if you could have the GPU heat sink on the top of the card), I believe any card, that a pico or similar PSU can handle, could be used.

_________________Help SPCR keep the lights on, use these links when you buy: NCIX, Amazon and Newegg

This looks an amazing case, well done for taking your idea and making it reality! It's possibly slightly too small for me (a phrase I never thought I'd use about a case) as I'd miss having front mounted USB ports (I'd end up with a USB hub next to it, which kinda defeats the point), but still very tempted...

How quiet is the case when set-up with an i5/i7 inside? Does it meet with SPCR forum members' approval, or does 'very quiet-ness' need to be sacrificed for the case being so small?

How much difference to noise & temperature did the vented side-panel make?

This looks an amazing case, well done for taking your idea and making it reality! It's possibly slightly too small for me (a phrase I never thought I'd use about a case) as I'd miss having front mounted USB ports (I'd end up with a USB hub next to it, which kinda defeats the point), but still very tempted...

How quiet is the case when set-up with an i5/i7 inside? Does it meet with SPCR forum members' approval, or does 'very quiet-ness' need to be sacrificed for the case being so small?

How much difference to noise & temperature did the vented side-panel make?

Hey UK_Peter, thank you!

The L1/L2 (L2 is basically L1 Dual Slot) isn't a so-called "silent case". Meaning, it isn't designed to block noise created by noisy components. I'm personally very sensitive to noise, and I designed the L1 primarily for myself. The L1 is designed to use silent/quiet components. I currently use a Intel i3 3225, Noctua NH-L9i, Noctua NF-R8 redux-1800 PWM, and one SSD. There are people putting i7's, and gaming GPUs into the L1 and L2 (L1 Dual Slot), but they're probably sacrificing some silence.

The vented side panel should drop CPU temps a degree or two.

Last edited by jamese on Wed Sep 03, 2014 8:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

Well, summer is basically over, and it looks like I'm finally going to take the plunge and start trying out anodizing on my parts. I may even go with a Type III Hard Coat anodized finish, but have to confirm the brown-grey color it produces. Anodizing has a lower minimum fee per color, so I may be able to offer 3-4 color options per batch.

Well, summer is basically over, and it looks like I'm finally going to take the plunge and start trying out anodizing on my parts. I may even go with a Type III Hard Coat anodized finish, but have to confirm the brown-grey color it produces. Anodizing has a lower minimum fee per color, so I may be able to offer 3-4 color options per batch.

YES YES YES. This is awesome. Type III is duller, but I've seen some nice dark black colors without issue.

I remember you thinking there would be issues with the standoffs being a different material. Will you be getting these anodized before installing the standoffs?

Yes, that's what I'm hoping to do. That way I can retain the durable steel fasteners instead of switching to aluminum. The risk is that the parts could get scratched or damaged though.

The actual surface finish is still a little up in the air. Bead blasting would be nice, but it's very expensive/time consuming, so I'm looking at other options.

Would it be possible to move to a traditional "screw in" standoff? They have them in all different heights. That way you'd be able to save an operation - simply get the things anodized, then have the end user install the standoffs.

Surface finish for type III may not matter - it is pretty forgiving. Is the aluminum pretty scratch/mark free when its done being folded? If it's in fairly good condition, you could do bright dipping. If it does have tooling marks, your other option other than blasting would be polishing, which is even more expensive.

Would it be possible to move to a traditional "screw in" standoff? They have them in all different heights. That way you'd be able to save an operation - simply get the things anodized, then have the end user install the standoffs.

Surface finish for type III may not matter - it is pretty forgiving. Is the aluminum pretty scratch/mark free when its done being folded? If it's in fairly good condition, you could do bright dipping. If it does have tooling marks, your other option other than blasting would be polishing, which is even more expensive.

Screw-in standoffs aren't an option, as the threads would protrude into the side panel. They would also require threads. In addition to the standoffs, there are 13 (14 for L2) steel nuts used for threads.

Ya, I'm hoping with the right anodized finish, it'll be durable enough to make it through the standoffs/nuts installation unscathed! I'd like to use aluminum with a protective coating. Otherwise there's a good chance there would be scratches.

Screw-in standoffs aren't an option, as the threads would protrude into the side panel. They would also require threads. In addition to the standoffs, there are 13 (14 for L2) steel nuts used for threads.

I'm curious, how do your steel fasteners work as standoffs? The need for screw-in standoffs has done my head in over a couple of tiny case sketches, because those threads have to go somewhere!

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